February, 2012

What does “older American” mean? Seriously…I see that term used more and more often. This past week it actually hit me right in the face and made me laugh. I had my mother with me out of town on a job. My mom is in her early seventies, and I never categorized her as an older American. When I flipped through some definitions of the words old and older, the answers I found amused me… far advanced in years of …

It was a late night phone call while I was away on business travel. I immediately felt a knot in my stomach, fearing it would be about my parents in Arizona. But it wasn’t. It was worse. It was a family friend. “Shaelee is dead,” she said. Just like that. The sound of those words is harshly embedded in my memory; a constant reminder of our instantly new reality. She was gone. Nothing we could do would help her anymore.

Well, now we know why celebrity chef Paula Deen was recently hired to promote the daily diabetes drug she takes: That drug is getting some new competition from Bydureon, the first once-a-week treatment for Type 2 diabetes approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA approved the injectable, extended-release drug last month after several delays due to government concerns that it might cause heart rhythm abnormalities. Manufacturer Amylin Pharmaceuticals expects the drug to be available in pharmacies this …

Through most of last year it seemed as if Social Security would be a big issue in the 2012 presidential campaign. It hasn’t happened . . . at least so far. At the GOP debate in Arizona, for example, only one candidate – Rick Santorum – went so far as to mention Social Security, and then pretty much only in passing. Even though he’s the only presidential candidate who’s called for immediate cuts in Social Security benefits (“We need to …

With everybody interested in saving a buck (or 20) these days, “bargains,” “sales,” and “special money saving offers” are popping up everywhere. Check your newspaper, smartphone, computer screen, or even the advertisements for cut-rate car insurance plastered on the toll booths on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I just saw those for the first time this past weekend. Sure, there are a lot of true bargains out there. But the consumer landscape during these tough times is also rife with “deals” that …